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Hogosha
The Hogosha are a quasi-legal criminal organisation that ostensibly exists to promote the "welfare and prosperity of the Kusari people". History Hogosha translates literally as "guardian" or "protector," reflecting the organization's rather romantic view held not only by its own members, but by a large portion of the Kusari population -- though by no means the majority. Far from protectors, the Hogosha are actually descendents of the organized crime syndicates that grow within the shadow of any sizable human society -- though the Hogosha have an oddly symbiotic relationship with both the government and Samura. Their political connections would make any serious attempt to dismantle them an embarrassment to Kusari as any number of secrets and deals that had been kept out of the public eye came to light. However, neither do the Hogosha have a free license to operate. Arrests of low-level Hogosha operators who flaunt their activities are frequent and help keep up appearances -- very important in Kusari. "Hard" crime, such as drug smuggling, is not tolerated. Individual opinions vary, but most police consider the Hogosha a necessary evil required for the smooth functioning of Kusari society. The government simply treats the Hogosha like any other large keiretsu. The Kusari population as a whole has a similar attitude: It is pointless to like or dislike the Hogosha; they are simply a fact of life. The Hogosha handle Artifact and gun smuggling and the fencing of stolen goods. They also do occasional dirty work for Samura. They view the Blood Dragons as a major threat to their existence and have engaged in turf wars with them, mostly in the asteroid fields of Tokyo. The Golden Chrysanthemums are a new problem, as they have few qualms about dealing in the drug trade or its consequences. Since they have no corruptible leaders or long associations with Samura or the Kusari government and police, the GC -- like the Blood Dragons -- are dangerous to the Hogosha way of life. They view the Junkers as their only real competitors within the Sirius Sector, and their only obstacle to expansion into the other Houses. They have approached the Corsairs to assist them in their plan, although no concrete steps have been taken. The Hogosha made a recent arrangement to purchase Artifacts directly from the Corsairs on the cruise ship Hawaii, a move that infuriated the GMG, who formerly served as the middleman between the two crime syndicates. It also raised the ire of the LSF, who applied pressure on Orbital Spa to deny landing privileges to the two factions. Bases Under Control *Kabukicho Depot, New Tokyo system, Kusari (C5/6) Official Faction Standings *ALLIES: **None *ENEMIES: **Golden Chrysanthemums **Blood Dragons **Junkers **GMG **Outcasts **Xenos While the Hogosha have no official allies, a few factions do show positive empathy for them. These include: *Samura Industries (+0.05) *LWB (+0.05) *Corsairs (+0.3) *Farmers Alliance (+0.25) News HOGOSHA BOSS MURDERED: HONSHU -- A high-ranking member of the Hogosha crime syndicate was found dead in his Honshu hotel room early today. Police Detectives believe that the boss was beaten to death with an Alien Artifact found in his hand. They later added that his two bodyguards were also killed in the pre-dawn incident. Officers had responded to a call from the hotelier and stormed the establishment after other occupants complained of gunfire. The police are following several leads. NO JUNKERS IN KUSARI: ROCHESTER -- Ever wondered why there are no Junkers in Kusari? The answer is simple: the Hogosha. The Junkers want to expand into every corner of Sirius space, hoping to exploit the underworld trade in each House. But, true to their isolate nature, the Kusari crime syndicate has kept the foreigners out of Kusari systems. Open conflict has not erupted between the two opposing factions because it is not the Junkers' way to wage open war. For now the enterprising scavengers will bide their time until an opportunity in Kusari presents itself. CHANGING THE STATUS QUO IN KUSARI: KYOTO -- The Hogosha crime syndicate is trying to keep things as they are in the Kusari Empire. This brings them into conflict with the Blood Dragons, a faction whose primary goal is to overthrow the government. It also puts them at odds with the Golden Chrysanthemums, another group that it striving for a revolution in Kusari, but for different reasons. The Dragons wish to eliminate government corruption and the Golden C. aim to bring about a new age for women, yet the common goal for these two groups brings them together as allies against the Hogosha. HOGOSHA BOSS ASSASSINATED: NEW TOKYO -- Noted Hogosha criminal Taki Fujimata met an unfortunate demise in his residence a few days ago at the hands of Blood Dragon commandos. Fujimata was responsible for the strikes upon six intelligence-gathering operatives that were in position in New Tokyo. His death insures greater mobility and safety for our undercover agents in the capitol. Fujimata was a well-liked figure within the Hogosha leadership, and rumors are already circulating that a reprisal attack may soon be forthcoming. HOGOSHA SEEN WITH FINANCE MINISTER: NEW TOKYO -- Top Hogosha Boss Ito Lei was spotted dining at a private table with Finance Minister Hiro Tanaka at New Tokyo's exclusive seafood restaurant Junyo Market last week. The two men came in at different times and Tanaka appeared disguised, but he was still recognized by several of the patrons. According to reports, the two shook hands and sat at a dark table near the back of the restaurant where they spoke for some time and rang up a bill of over three thousand credits on rare Junyo seafood delicacies. The Hogosha boss paid the bill. ARTIFACT PRICES DROP FOR DISTRIBUTORS: SIGMA-19 -- It looks like the profit margins on Artifacts are increasing, which should delight many of our distributors in New Tokyo. The GMG was recently cut out of the Artifact trade between the Hogosha and the Corsairs, resulting in better prices for our organization. Contact was made with Corsair representatives on the Hawaii, and our negotiators offered the pirates more than the GMG was paying them for the Artifacts, but less than the Miners Guild was charging the Hogosha. It looks like everyone will profit, except the GMG. HOGOSHA CANDIDATE WINS ELECTION: NEW TOKYO -- Ryuku Daisama is celebrating tonight in New Tokyo, along with many of our leaders. Daisama was supported by the Hogosha because of his efforts to curb crime in Kusari space. He is a fierce opponent of the Blood Dragons and Golden Chrysanthemums, and his newly won position on the Interstellar Board of Crime Management will help bolster his efforts throughout all of our space. The Hogosha will soon be backing another lucky candidate in the race of the next open position on the board. If you would like to support our efforts, contributions are always accepted. HOGOSHA LEADER DISHONORS HIMSELF: SHIKOKU -- One of our own is on his way to Shikoku where he will serve a twelve-year sentence for trafficking Cardamine. This terrible crime must not be perpetuated by the protectors of the Kusari people. The underboss was caught when two of his street-level distributors were apprehended and confessed to working for him. This man has been disavowed by the Hogosha, and it is unlikely that he will live to see the end of his prison sentence. The Hogosha will not tolerate the sale of Cardamine as a means to make money. Rumors "Life in State Police is not as simple as it once was. We and the Hogosha had an agreement. Smuggling Artifacts is fine, but not Cardamine. The Golden Chrysanthemums have disturbed this harmonious balance. They insist on importing drugs into Roppongi, where we cannot watch them carefully. IC is not very concerned with their activities, so there is little we can do." - Detective Akio Ono, Kusari State Police "We Hogosha are legitimate businessmen. Don't believe any of those rumors about us stealing supplies from bases and all. As a matter of fact, I just came up from Tokyo with basic necessities. There's nothing evil in that, is there?" - Junichi Wada, Kabukicho Depot "We will never let the Junkers into Kusari space. For one thing, there is no junk. It was too precious for Kusari industry to ever throw away. The Junkers harbor many criminals that create problems for the other Houses." - Kabukicho Bartender Watamura Kyubei "Our main business is Alien Artifacts. For some reason, the rich elites of Tokyo and Manhattan have always had a fondness for these toys. We used to get them from the GMG, who were the middlemen between us and the Corsairs. They got greedy, like they all do -- started charging too much. So when the Hawaii opened, we bypassed them and went directly to the source." - Kabukicho Bartender Watamura Kyubei "We have a little deal with the police -- no drugs, no problems. Some of the young Bosozoku object to that. They usually get a one-way ticket out of a garbage airlock in short order. The Golden C's are a different thing. We can't control those zealots. Misguided feminists, that's what they are." - Ichiro Watanabe, Hogosha "We are Samura's hired muscle. When something unpleasant needs to be done, we're the ones to do it. In exchange, they keep the police off our backs and make sure that Artifact smuggling is not taken too seriously in Kusari. We've had a long and profitable relationship and can see no reason to change our ways." - Ichiro Watanabe, Hogosha "The Blood Dragons want to restore the ways of the past. That is not the direction that Kusari should follow. The Hogosha is accused of many things, but we are just the messengers. Kusari society itself must change from within. That is difficult for our culture, where the nail that sticks up gets hammered down." - Hiroshi Yamazaki, Hogosha Category:Factions Category:Kusari Factions Category:Criminal Factions Category:Criminals